


A Starship Built for Two

by Ermingarde



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Slice of Life, Videoconferencing, quarantine fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:07:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23864260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ermingarde/pseuds/Ermingarde
Summary: Due to a viral outbreak on Corellia, Mara and Luke are quarantined aboard theJade Sabrefor fifteen days when they return to Coruscant.
Relationships: Mara Jade/Luke Skywalker
Comments: 5
Kudos: 44
Collections: May the 4th Be With You Star Wars Fanworks Exchange 2020





	A Starship Built for Two

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DesertVixen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertVixen/gifts).



> DesertVixen, your letter said "sexy fluff" for Luke and Mara - I don't know how sexy this is when it comes down to it, but it's certainly fluffy. I hope you enjoy - I certainly had fun writing it! 
> 
> Set in a nebulous time period shortly after _Vision of the Future,_ when Luke is teaching at the Praxeum and Mara is working for Karrde. 
> 
> Note that in the Galactic Standard Calendar, a week has five days. 
> 
> A final note: Mara and Luke's quarantine experience in this fic is much less stressful than what many of us are going through right now; for one thing, they know exactly when their isolation will end. This fic takes a very optimistic tone, but no one is expected or required to think of quarantine as a vacation.

**Day 1**

"Three weeks?!" 

Over the holo, the young Nautolan security officer's head-tentacles writhed nervously. 

"Um, yes, Captain Jade. Due to the, um, outbreak on Corellia, all incoming ships from the Corellian sector have to be quarantined for fifteen days, to account for the maximum, er, incubation period of the, uh, virus." 

"I have urgent business on Coruscant," Mara said flatly. 

"Well, um, our testing capacities are still very, uh, limited. If your business falls into one of the following categories, um, medical, agricultural, or infrastructure maintenance, then we can, er, expedite your testing." 

"And if it doesn't, we have to wait here," Mara summarized. The security officer nodded. "Well, I won't pretend to like it, but I understand. No, it doesn't fall into one of those categories." 

"We will transmit instructions for, um, an assigned orbital position for the duration of the quarantine. Do you, uh, have enough supplies? If not, we can, um, have a droid deliver additional items." 

"No, we have enough." The computer beeped as it received the orbital path. 

"Oh, good. Please, um, feel free to contact us with any urgent problems," the security officer concluded. The holo winked out, and Mara stood up with a sigh. Time to break the news to Luke. 

Luke was stretched out on the bed, fast asleep. Mara sat down next to him. He still looked a little singed around the edges, a consequence of the explosion that had concluded their little "business trip" for NRI. She hated to wake him - but this was probably something he should know. 

"Rise and shine," she said, shaking him gently by the shoulder. 

"Mmph," he replied. 

"Eloquent as ever, I see." Luke rolled over on his side to look at her. 

"What's wrong?" As ever, there was no getting anything past him. 

"We've arrived on Coruscant, but there's a bit of a complication…." 

**Day 2**

"Ugh. I think I never want to move again." 

"Me neither." 

After submitting their reports to NRI and informing friends, family, and, in Mara's case, employers about their situation, Luke had suggested a friendly 'saber match. That had been followed by hand-to-hand training, and while Luke still had the upper hand with a 'saber, Mara consistently bested him when it came to unarmed combat. Now they both lay panting on the floor of the  _ Jade Sabre _ 's empty cargo hold. 

Luke used the Force to float over a water bottle, earning a light smack from Mara. 

"Penalty for unnecessary Force use." 

"Do you want a drink or not?" She laughed and took the bottle from him, then stood up, reaching out to pull him to his feet. 

"Best seven of twelve?" 

"Are you joking?" 

**Day 4**

Mara looked up from her datapad as Luke walked in. 

"How was the meeting?" 

Luke made a face like he'd bitten into a fresh muja fruit and discovered it was actually a Roonan lemon. 

"That bad?" 

"We spent the first half hour just trying to explain to Streen how to use the holoconferencing software." He headed for the kitchenette and started rummaging through the tiny pantry; the meeting had run straight through the lunch hour. 

"Seriously? Multi-person holoconferencing is pre-Imperial technology." 

"Tell that to Streen. Halfway through the meeting he accidentally disconnected his audio, but it took the rest of us over ten minutes to realize, because he'd muted himself too…finally we noticed him waving, but it had been kind of a contentious discussion, so repeating everything for him just ended up leading to more debate." 

Mara laughed, imagining gray-bearded Streen frantically gesticulating, trying to get everyone's attention. 

"By the end," Luke continued, "Kam looked ready to tear his hair out, he was so frustrated." He pulled out a mealpak and shoved it into the heating unit, then joined her at the table. "What about you? What are you working on?" 

Mara shrugged. 

"Nothing at the moment; just reading the news. Did you know Hapes has closed its borders completely to avoid the virus?" 

"I did, actually. It's definitely a controversial decision, but Teneniel knows what she's doing." 

The heating unit beeped, and Luke got up to retrieve his mealpak. When he opened it, the smell of tomo-spice filled the kitchenette. 

"You know you can't actually live on spiced ribenes, right?" Mara asked. 

Luke hurriedly swallowed his mouthful before replying. 

"Definitely not - we don't have enough of them for three weeks." 

**Day 7**

Luke looked up from the message to Tionne he was composing. 

"Is today Benduday or Primeday?" he asked. 

"Benduday," Mara replied. 

"Thanks." 

**Day 11**

"Want to spar?" 

Mara put down her datapad, considering. They were both people accustomed to a high degree of physical activity, and it would be nice to burn off the excess energy. But she might have a better idea for how to do it. 

"You know, Skywalker, this is the perfect opportunity for something I've wanted to do for years." 

"What's that?" 

"Teach you to dance." 

When she was satisfied that she had taught Luke enough of the basics, Mara connected her datapad to the portable speaker and pulled up a leisurely Alderaanian waltz tune. 

"Okay, remember: Don't step forward too far, or I won't be able to get past you on the turn." 

Luke nodded, looking absurdly nervous. Mara laughed. 

"It's just for fun - no one's shooting at you. Okay, now: One two three, two two three…" 

**Day 13**

"Oh, oh, don't stop!" 

Luke, whose face was buried between her legs, didn't answer. He redoubled his efforts, and Mara gasped, nearly banging her head on the cupboard door behind her. Luke's observation that they had never properly christened  _ every _ room on the  _ Sabre _ had led to some fun times in very unusual places - at the moment, Mara was perched on the edge of the counter in the kitchenette. 

"Oh  _ Force _ , Luke!" 

**Day 15**

"You know," Mara said, "this is the longest stretch of time we've spent together since our honeymoon." 

Lying behind her, Luke pressed a kiss to the nape of Mara's neck. 

"I'm - well, I won't say I'm glad this happened, considering the circumstances. But -" 

Mara nodded. 

"I know what you mean." She turned around to face him in the half-light of their little cabin on the  _ Sabre _ . 

"It will be nice to get back to work," she continued. "I'm doing a Hydian Way run next month, and I'd planned to drop by Yavin for a couple of days. But if I ask H'sishi to fill in on my next run, I could extend that to a week." 

Luke grinned widely enough that she could see it despite the dimness. 

"I'll be counting the days." 

**Author's Note:**

> Both Roonan lemons and the days of the week come from "Dining at Dex's" by Gregory Walker, a _Hyperspace_ article published in 2000. The original webpage is no longer available, but you can read the article [here](https://www.facebook.com/starwarsupcomingbooks/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1577387749042909). The author explains many of the jokes in a blog post [here](http://web.archive.org/web/20120518155148/blogs.starwars.com/narbflick/11/comments). 
> 
> Kam Solusar and Streen are adult students/Jedi at the Praxeum on Yavin IV. Kam first appears in the _Dark Empire_ comics, while Streen makes his debut in the _Jedi Academy_ trilogy by Kevin J. Anderson.


End file.
